The purpose of our project was to determine the impact of oxidative stress and the effects of exogenous antioxidants on neurite growth in neurons extracted from the X-organ/sinus gland of the fiddler crab Uca pugilator.

After removing eyestalks from anesthetized crabs, we microdissected the eyestalks and removed neural tissue from the X-organ, located directly opposite the opalescent-blue sinus gland. We digested the tissue fragments enzymatically using trypsin, separated the tissue to break loose individual neurons, and cultured the cells for a period of forty-eight hours.